To Love Again
by mama4dukes
Summary: After a devastating tragedy leaves Bella Swan alone in the world, will she be able to open her heart to love again? Genre: NC (non-canon); Angst; Romance; AU (alternate universe)
1. Chapter 1

**FAGE 12: Never Too Late To Start Anew**

**Title: To Love Again**

**Written for: brierlynn03**

**Written By: mama4dukes**

**Thank you to Lizzie Paige for the fabulous banner! I am in awe of your talent. **

**Rating: M**

**Genre: NC (non-canon); Angst; Romance; AU (alternate universe**

**Prompt used: Love story with Bella / Edward or Wolf of your choice.**

**Summary: After a devastating tragedy leaves Bella Swan alone in the world, will she be able to open her heart to love again?**

**If you would like to see all the stories for this exchange, visit the Facebook group: ** **Fanficaholics Anon: Where Obsession Never Sleeps, or add the C2 to get all the stories direct to your inbox. **

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author—mama4dukes. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Bella's POV**

"I now pronounce you husband and wife. Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. Swan," Reverend Weber announced. "You may kiss the bride."

My father kissed his new wife dutifully on the lips and the guests all broke out into applause. I was happy for him. He wouldn't have to spend the rest of his days alone. He was still a fairly young guy, having just turned forty-four years old, and I knew for a fact that this was the first woman he had been with since mom and he got divorced. Unlike Renee, Charlie was very guarded and didn't give his heart away too easily. Mom had hurt him when she left and it took him a long time to get over the feeling of rejection. But I understood why Mom left; life with my father couldn't have been easy for a free spirit like her.

I had arrived just in time for the wedding due to a problem with my flight. I was supposed to arrive last night, but my flight was cancelled due to severe weather in Seattle and I had to scramble to find a seat on a flight from San Diego to Seattle this morning, rent a car, and make my way to Forks.

"Bells! I'm so happy you could make it!" my father greeted.

"Wouldn't miss it for the world, Dad. Congratulations, by the way."

"Let me take a look at you, I haven't seen you in almost seven years. You look beautiful!"

"Thanks, Dad."

He was right, it had been almost seven years since I last saw him.

I moved in with my father in January of my junior year of high school after my mother married Phil Dwyer, who was a minor league baseball player at the time. She expressed an interest to travel with him, and I wanted her to be able to do that so I moved to Forks, Washington so I could have a bit of stability.

It was in Forks, Washington during my junior year of high school that I met Edward Cullen and his family. They were vampires. Yes, unbelievable, I know, but vampires exist. They weren't the blood-sucking, soul-destroying monsters we read about in books or saw in movies rather, they were humane vampires who fed on animal blood, rather than human blood. They attempted to live as human a life as possible by working and attending school, but it wasn't an easy façade for them to maintain. For one thing, they couldn't be seen in sunlight because their skin would sparkle—as if they had millions of diamonds fused onto them. Second, they didn't age. Edward, for example, would forever look as if he were seventeen years old. The third reason, and perhaps the most significant reason why they were unable to fully immerse amongst humans was the fact that they constantly craved blood.

While I was dating Edward, the family invited me to join them while they played baseball in a clearing up in the mountains. Vampires are so physically strong that they can't play sports in front of humans. It was then that a group of three nomadic vampires crossed paths with us. These vampires were different from the Cullens. They roamed the world on foot without a permanent home base and fed off of humans instead of animals. They immediately spotted me—the lone human—and began a game of cat and mouse. I was the mouse. The Cullens took me to Phoenix to escape from them, but I was quickly found by one of the nomads—James. He beat me to the point where I had significant injuries, and then bit me on my wrist in an attempt to drain me. The Cullens showed up just then, interrupting his feed, and were able to kill him but the venom from James had begun to spread throughout my body, initiating my transformation into a vampire. Fortunately, under advisement from Carlisle, Edward was able to suck the venom out of me so I wouldn't be transformed into a vampire. As I was lying in the hospital bed, I started thinking seriously about my relationship with him and realized I should have heeded his warnings to stay away from him. I wasn't cut out for this kind of life and vampires were just too dangerous for me. So, I broke up with him while I was still in the hospital. Though he was sad, he understood my decision, and we parted ways amicably. I never returned to Forks, opting to return home with my mother instead.

Although I never saw the Cullens again, I did hear from them from time to time during major turning points in my life and each year on my birthday. On my eighteenth birthday, I received a FedEx package from Alice Cullen. It contained a letter, which stated I could live freely. The Cullens had successfully disposed of James's mate, Victoria, who apparently had been after my blood. She also wrote that she loved me, missed me, and would remember me for all of eternity. She saw that I would have a long and fulfilling life. _'You'll experience great joy, heartrending tragedy, then infinite bliss, Bella. But you're strong and if you keep your heart open to love and new possibilities, you'll swim through life. You're destined to love and be loved like no other."_ Her 'P.S.' was funny, it read, '_For the love of God, Bella, please go to the beauty salon, get your hair cut, and buy some new clothes. Oh, and join a gym. You look like crap!' _She enclosed a five thousand dollar Visa gift card along with her letter and, for once, I accepted her gift and did exactly what she told me to do.

My father roused me out of my thoughts by saying, "Come and meet Sue, Bella."

"Oh, sure." My father led me to his wife. I knew her deceased husband, Harry, but I had never met his wife.

"Bella, this is Sue. Sue, this is Bella."

"It's a pleasure to meet you," I greeted. Sue Clearwater was a pretty Quileute woman. She was tall with long, jet black hair and a beautiful smile.

"Oh, it's nice to meet you, too. I've heard so much about you," she replied.

"You have?" I asked, a bit taken aback. I didn't realize that my father had spoken of me. He's always been pretty short tempered with me ever since I left Forks.

"Of course, I have. You're Charlie's daughter, Bella."

"Oh," I said. I was a little surprised because my father had missed all of the big events in my life—for example, my high school and college graduations. I'd heard from him, of course, but he never really came to see me. Maybe he didn't think those events were a big deal. Ah, well, every person thinks differently.

"Bella, this is my son Seth," she said, introducing me to a tall, Quileute man who looked to be about college age.

"Oh, a pleasure to meet you," I said, extending my hand. He shook my hand. I think he was coming down with something because his hands were really hot. We exchanged a few standard pleasantries after that. After meeting her son, I followed the caravan of cars to a wedding reception on the Quileute reservation in La Push.

When I arrived at the tribal lodge, where the reception was being held, I couldn't help but feel a bit out of place. For one thing, there was a group of men and women who glared at me for some reason. I had no idea why since I'd never met them before in my entire life. I shrugged my shoulders and decided to pay no mind to them. I stood in the buffet line, put some food on my plate, and ate silently and alone at a table, praying to God that this shindig would soon be over.

A few minutes later, Billy Black was wheeled over to me by a woman. "Hi, Bella," he greeted.

"Oh, hello, Billy." I gave him a hug. "How has life been treating you?"

"As fit as a fiddle," he said, proudly. He motioned to the woman standing behind his wheelchair, "Bella, this is my wife, Tiffany."

"I didn't know you got married, congratulations!" I turned to Tiffany. "My name is Bella Swan, I'm Charlie's daughter."

"Oh, hello. I've heard so much about you from your father and from Billy, too."

"So, how is Jacob?" I asked, Billy. "I haven't seen him at all."

"Oh, he's here. He's standing over in the corner with his friends." He pointed towards the group of young people who were still scowling at me.

"Oh. I had no idea. I don't recognize him, in fact."

"Well, he had a bit of a growth spurt."

"Ah."

My father and Sue joined Billy and Tiffany at my table.

"So, Bella, what do you do?" Billy asked.

"I'm a special education teacher."

"In California?"

"Yes, I teach at the tribal school at the Mission Indian Reservation. I actually live there, too." I was careful not to mention my fiancé or his family because, for some reason, my father blew his top whenever I mentioned him or them. He didn't even know that I was engaged.

"You do?" they all asked. "But your address says Lakeside, California."

"Well, yes, that's where the reservation is located."

"But you're not Native American. They allow you to live on the reservation?"

"Yes."

"And you don't feel uncomfortable living there?" Sue asked.

"No, I've made many friends and everyone is warm and welcoming there." _Unlike the people here,_ I added mentally. Aside from these four people, no one dared approach me. It was almost as if I were Hester Prynne from the Scarlett Letter and wearing a big 'A' on my chest. I couldn't understand the animosity. I'd never met these people and was only in Forks for a few months before I left permanently. Oh, well, I can't be bothered with whatever petty resentment they had against me. I was only here to see my father anyway.

"My son is a teacher at the tribal school here," Tiffany informed me. "He teaches third and forth graders."

"Very nice. I'd like to meet him sometime. Maybe he can take me on a tour of the tribal school. I'm always interested in seeing other schools."

"I'll have to introduce you to him while you're here."

I noticed Billy motioning towards the group of kids with an angry scowl on his face. Two of them approached the table. "What is it, Dad?"

"Jacob, you remember Bella, don't you?"

"Yeah, sure. Hi, Bella." _Gee, I wonder what his problem is? Why the salty attitude?_

"Hello, Jacob. You cut your hair and you've grown at least a foot since I last saw you."

"Yeah, well, things happened," he spat acidly. Maybe he's on drugs or something because he used to be a very sweet kid, but now his attitude is downright hostile.

"Bella, this is my son, Embry," Tiffany introduced me to a man about my age with a deep tan and big brown, soulful eyes.

"Very nice to meet you. I'm Bella Swan," I said, extending my hand out to him.

Embry seemed to be very shy. He gulped as he took my hand, never taking his eyes off of me, and shook it. His breathing seemed to become a little labored.

"Do you have asthma?" I asked.

"Asthma?"

"Yes, you seem to be having trouble breathing. I have a friend with asthma and his breathing tends to become erratic when he needs his inhaler."

"I... I... Um... No, I don't have asthma. I'm just coming down with a cold."

"I think you might have a fever, too. When I shook your hand, it was extremely warm, hot even."

Everyone around me had shocked expressions on their faces. When I glanced at Jacob, he was staring at me with his jaw hanging open. In fact, the entire group was. Honestly speaking, I felt like I was on display. They were a strange group.

"Uh... yeah... maybe. I should... um... I should go and get some rest."

"It was very nice to meet you, Embry."

"It was great meeting you, too... Bella," my name seemed to fall almost imperceptibly off of his lips, almost in a whisper. He kept glancing back at me as he left the reception. As soon as he left, Jacob made his excuses and left along with the strange group of people they were hanging out with. It was like they traveled in a pack.


	2. Chapter 2

**Embry's POV**

"Did you seriously imprint on the leech lover, Em?" Jacob asked.

"Yeah," I sighed. "And the worst part is she seems to be a really sweet girl."

"Sweet or not, the girl mixed with vampires. From overhearing Charlie's conversations with her these past seven years, she's definitely still dating Cullen. Even Charlie's disappointed by the fact, though he won't tell her," Leah informed me.

"Well, what the heck am I supposed to do? It's not like I wanted to imprint on her; it happened by chance."

"You're going to have to deny the imprint, Embry. I can give you an alpha order if you'd like. It might make it easier," Jacob said.

"Nah, I don't like to be alpha ordered. I can deal with it myself."

"Alright, but just say the word, and I'll do it for you."

I left Jacob's house, ran to the woods, shed my clothes, and phased for the first time in years. Just my luck to imprint on the leech lover. I truly didn't need this. Bella Swan seemed like a nice girl, but the fact that she was mixed up with vampires didn't sit right with me. She lied to her father stating she had no contact with the Cullens save for a yearly birthday card and a few correspondences with only one of them, but Leah said she had overheard conversations between Charlie and her in which she kept mentioning some guy named Eddie. We all knew the vampire she dated in high school was named Edward. Well, I didn't want to get mixed up with a liar, that much was for sure. I made a decision to stay away from her during her stay in La Push. She was only here for two nights anyway.

Forty-eight hours later, Bella Swan left La Push after saying goodbye to her father and Sue. Fortunately, for us wolves, she didn't come to seek us out. In fact, it was almost like she was avoiding us. Seth was the only one who hung out with her while she was here, and he didn't have a problem with her at all. He said she was a really nice girl, and that's all that really mattered to him.

It mattered to the rest of us though. The Cullens were the reason why we were all wolves. They moved away from the area, at the end of the school year, around six years ago—a year after Bella Swan left Forks, but we had to patrol the woods during that time. It really took a huge chunk out of our lives.

I resented vampires and had no time for people who were friendly with them.

Charlie inadvertently found out we were wolves because he was there the first time Seth and Leah phased—the same day Harry Clearwater had a massive heart attack and died. After that, we had to let him in on the secret. To say that he was pissed off when he found out Bella had dated a vampire was an understatement. When he discovered Bella was still dating Edward, he refused to go and visit her while she was putting herself at risk—even for her high school and college graduations.

He invited her to his wedding, but only if she showed up solo. Bella didn't seem to mind. Apparently, Edward had some sort of family commitment that weekend so she said it worked out perfectly. _Pfft._ It wasn't a family commitment; the guy knew he couldn't set foot on the reservation. Oh, well, I guess Taha Aki, for some reason, decided I needed to be punished with the leech lover as an imprint on top of everything else.

**_Four months later..._**

It was Saturday and the entire pack, Old Quil, Billy, and my mother were gathered in Charlie and Sue's living room watching a football game. Sue had just walked in with the mail. She opened an envelope then gasped. Her face turned as pale as a ghost. She switched off the TV

"Hey. We were watching the game," Charlie protested.

With a serious expression on her face, Sue replied, "Charlie, you need to see this."

Charlie took what looked like an invitation from Sue. He dropped his face in his hands and cried, "Jesus Christ, Susie, what the hell did my daughter ever do to deserve a bastard like me for a father?"

"Charlie, I'm so sorry."

"What's going on? What's the matter?" Leah asked worriedly.

Charlie passed the invitation to Leah who read it out loud, "Mr. & Mrs. Phil Dwyer and Mr. & Mrs. Mark Cheveyo request the honor of your presence at the marriage of their children, Isabella Marie Swan to Edward Mark Cheveyo on Saturday, the seventeenth of December at four o'clock in the afternoon, Mission Indian Community Church, Mission Indian Reservation, Lakeside, California."

There was a photo of the happy couple enclosed with the invitation, I could read the writing on the back, _'I thought you might want a copy of our engagement photo. Bella.' _Leah passed the photo around so we could all take a look.

"That is definitely not Edward Cullen." Paul pointed out the obvious.

"Um, no, he's a bit too tanned to be Cullen. He's also not white," Jared said.

"Obviously, he's Native American." Leah stated. "And really hot by the looks of it."

"Oh, Charlie, I'm so sorry," Sue repeated. Why she was sorry, I had no idea. She always encouraged Charlie to be involved with his daughter.

"I missed her high school and college graduations all because of my lack of trust in her. I thought she was still dating Edward Cullen. You know, she was here for two days in August and didn't even bother telling me she was engaged. I've been that bad of a father. What's even worse is that it looks like Phil and Renee and the groom's parents are hosting the wedding. I wasn't even asked to participate."

"Charlie, first of all, you didn't ask her to participate in your wedding while you asked Leah and Seth. Second, you kept telling her that you didn't want to know about Edward or his family throughout the years. Tiffany, Sue, and I told you that you should have shown interest in her life regardless of who she was dating," Billy chastised. "Because no matter what, Bella is still your daughter."

"I know, Billy. I screwed up big time on this one. You know, she didn't mention Edward once in the two days she was here out of respect for my wishes. It must have hurt her tremendously."

"Yeah, well, I wasn't so polite to her and neither was the rest of the pack with the exception of Seth," Leah said.

"That would explain why Seth has been invited to the wedding, but not you," Sue said.

"This was a pack error of epic proportions," Jacob admitted, and then he turned to me. "I'm sorry, Embry."

"Hey, I'm just as much at fault here. But, as long as Bella is happy, I'll be fine."

"But Embry, she's your imprint and she's marrying another man."

"And her happiness is all that's supposed to matter to me, and she's clearly happy. Besides, she's been with this guy for years. I can't break them up just because some supernatural force demands we be together. It's wrong on so many levels."

"I think you're making a mistake. Acting on an imprint is your god given right as a wolf."

"But on a very human level, Jake, it's wrong. It's wrong to go and break up a couple who is happy and in love. She has no idea I'm a wolf, or even what a wolf is. It's not her fault I imprinted on her. Heck, it's not even my fault. Some big guy up there made it happen, but I refuse to go and break up a happy couple for the sake of imprinting. How long have they been together, Charlie?"

"Since her freshman year in college. They've been dating that long. I remember how excited she was when she first told me that she had met Eddie. Ironically, it was the same day I told her that I didn't want to hear about Edward or any other guy she was dating."

"What are you going to do now, Charlie?" Billy asked.

"Go to her wedding. I'm guessing Phil is going to be giving her away."

The man looked as bad as I felt. I let misinformation and petty prejudice guide me to judge Bella, and because of this, I forced myself into the position of being the asshole who has to watch his imprint marry another man. I made a decision at that moment. Though I could never be with my imprint, I decided to work on myself as a man. I wanted to become more honest, open, less judgmental, and—above all—I needed to think for myself instead of letting the pack sway my decisions.

What happened to all of my dreams? My goals? Sure, I went to college, but I'm still stagnant in La Push following Jacob's lead. Once upon a time, I wanted to travel the world because I've always known there was more out there than just the Olympic Peninsula. Instead of exploring the world, I was living with my mother and stepfather in Jacob's old room. When did I lose myself? What happened to my independence?

When I really thought about things, the only reason why I remained in La Push was because I was a wolf. Prior to phasing for the first time, I had always made my own decisions. As soon as I found out I was a wolf, I started following the Alpha's lead like everyone else. In the process, I lost myself. What an idiot!


	3. Chapter 3

**Bella's POV**

Eddie and I were on our plane ride home from our honeymoon in Hawaii. We had spent two glorious weeks frolicking in the sand and making love in our hotel room. We barely came up for air except to eat.

Eddie and I have been together for six years. We met during our freshman year of college at a house party. Neither of us knew anyone so we started talking. He turned out to be a really funny, sweet, and sensitive guy and the two of us hit it off like two peas in a pod. We'd been together ever since and there was nothing that we didn't know about each other.

Two weeks ago, we had our wedding on the reservation where Eddie and I lived. It was a wedding full of surprises. For one, my father had replied with a 'yes' to our wedding invitation. This is the man who had missed almost every major event in my life. I guess my wedding was too big of an occasion to miss, even for him. When I received the reply from him, I contemplated whether or not I wanted him to walk me down the aisle. Phil had been more of a father figure to me since leaving Forks, and Charlie had been kind of cold, and honestly, he had never really been in my life when I was a kid. I decided to just let Phil give me away. It was my wedding, after all, and Charlie invited me to his wedding, but I wasn't part of the wedding party. We were, for the most part, acquaintances while Phil and my mother have been my support system. After we got married, Phil, my mother, and my in-laws surprised us with a honeymoon to Hawaii. Then Charlie surprised us with a whopper of a gift: the deed to his house in Forks. He had put it in my name stating that he lived in Sue's house in La Push. I tried to return it to him, but he told me that he had purchased the house originally to raise me in so it was always intended for me, and that I should do what I pleased with it: sell it, rent it out, or use it as a vacation home. I thanked him, of course, but still had no idea why he gave me such an outrageous wedding gift.

A few hours later, the plane had landed and we were back in San Diego. We had a thirty-minute drive to the reservation. For now, we lived in an in-law apartment attached to Eddie's parent's house. We could afford to rent out our own place, but we were saving money for a down payment on a house. We didn't mind living with his parents anyway. They were very nice and they didn't hover over us. We had a separate entrance and kitchen so we were able to live our own lives.

"Back to real life, I guess." Eddie sighed as he started the engine to our car.

"I suppose, but real life is not such a bad place with you there."

"That's exactly how I feel, Mrs. Cheveyo." He leaned in to kiss me on the lips.

Twenty-five minutes later, our car was crossing the intersection on a green light when we were blindsided on the driver's side by a Mercedes which came from out of nowhere. An hour after that, I was hovering over my unconscious husband, bawling my eyes out. He was a mangled mess and the doctor's had done all that they could.

Eddie suddenly popped his eyes open. "Bella," he rasped. I moved in closer to him. "Listen to me, honey, don't say anything until I'm done. I want you to promise me something."

"Anything."

"I want you to promise me that you'll live your life, follow your dreams, and love, Bella. Love with your whole heart just like you love me. Stay happy and strong for me, Bella. You're still young, and if you meet someone, love him like you love me. Keep your mind and your heart open to new possibilities. Open your heart to love again. The world is a big place. You're destined for greatness, honey. I love you, Bella. You made me the happiest guy in the world and I'm going to leave this earth knowing that I knew eternal happiness."

"Eddie, please..." I sobbed.

"Promise me, Bella."

"I promise."

"Look at me, honey." I did as he said. "Now stop crying and smile for me." I took several deep breaths to calm myself before I tried my best to smile for him.

"I love you, Eddie. You—all of you. You're my other half and you know me like no other. And you've always been the owner of my heart."

"I know. Now I want to feel your lips on mine one last time." I kissed him on the lips, trying to send him all of my love. "Keep your promise, Bella. Stay happy and strong and welcome love, never turn it away. You need to love again! I love you, Bella," were the last words that fell from his lips. We were looking into each other's eyes when he flatlined.

I vaguely remembered the doctor calling the time of death. The howl which left my body reverberated throughout the hospital. I fell on top of Eddie and refused to let him go. He was still warm. How could he be dead? He was so young; so full of life. How could this happen? How could this cruel world take him and not me? Why leave me on this earth to suffer through life alone? Why?

"Wake up! Wake up, Eddie! Please! Don't leave me here alone! Oh God, whyyyy? Why did you take him from me?" I cried in agony, but I knew he was gone. He was gone along with his dreams. Eddie wanted to have kids and raise them on the reservation, surrounded by family. He wanted to succeed as a financial planner so our dreams could become reality. He wanted to purchase a house, and I wanted to travel the world with him. He was determined to make both our dreams come true—we both were. And now, all of a sudden, those dreams were extinguished along with a most beautiful life and the most unconditional love I would ever know.

I felt warm arms wrap around me, it was Mark, Eddie's father. He looked about as bad as I felt. Eddie's mother wasn't faring very well either. The three of us held onto each other for comfort. After about an hour, the doctor pulled the sheet over my husband's face. I asked him to wait, kissed my husband one last time on the lips, and vowed that I would love him forever.

The next six weeks were a blur to me. I was completely unable to function. Eddie's parents made the funeral arrangements. I went through the motions in complete agony. My mother and Phil & Charlie and Sue flew down for the funeral. Mom stayed to take care of me until she was sure I could function without breaking down. About a month after the funeral, I returned to work. I kept a cheerful smile on my face for my students, but inside I was a mess. I made sure that I ate and worked out at the gym like a mad woman. Exercise seemed to take the edge off of things, and I knew that Eddie would be proud. He was a gym monkey. I wanted to try and stay strong like I promised my husband I would.

On Sundays, I kept up the tradition of having family dinners with Eddie's parents and siblings. On this April Sunday, it was just his parents and me. I knew something was up.

"Bella," Lisa, Eddie's mother, said. "Mark and I were talking, and we're kicking you out of our house at the end of the school year."

_Well, that was unexpected. I thought they loved me?_

"Please hear us out. We're not doing this because we want you to leave; we're doing this for you."

"For me? I can't understand how throwing me out of my home can benefit me."

"Yes, for you. Mark and I love you like you're one of our own, and we especially appreciate how you loved our son with your whole heart. But he's gone now, Bella, and he's never coming back. And you, you're still young. You're only twenty-five years old, and you need to start over. You need to find love and run with it."

"I don't think I can," I cried.

"Yes, you can. Eddie wouldn't want you to live out your life alone. He would want you to open up your heart to someone else. He would want you to have babies, raise them, and live a full life, Bella."

"He's gone, I don't know if I can go on without him."

"But you have been, Bella. You put on a brave face and you've been doing your very best at staying strong for him. Now you have to be strong for yourself and start living your life." She rested a comforting hand on my arm.

"Bella, if it were the other way around. Would you want Eddie to go through the rest of his life alone?" Mark asked.

_Never, I could never be that selfish. _I finally understood what Eddie was trying to say when he told me to welcome love and never turn it away. He didn't want me to be alone, he wanted me to find love, and go on with my life.

"If it were the other way around, I'd want Eddie to go on with his life," I answered honestly.

"Exactly, Bella. Lisa and I love you; remember that. That's why we're doing this." Mark crossed over and hugged me. He allowed me to cry into his strong arms. And when I was done, I knew what I needed to do. I needed to keep my promise to Eddie.

Two months flew by and I was beginning to cope better. The driver of the Mercedes that hit us was charged with vehicular homicide while under the influence of alcohol. As part of his plea agreement, he was sentenced to eighteen months in prison without the possibility of parole and ordered to pay a million dollars each to me and to Eddie's parents for pain and suffering plus all related court and attorney's fees. He was remorseful, that much I would give him. He was a wealthy family man who made a bad decision and his children and wife would be without a father and husband for eighteen months. But we would be without Eddie forever.

I still had no idea where I was going to move to. I had a week left of teaching school and my apartment was all packed up. I didn't have much because the in-law had already been furnished when we moved in.

There was a knock on the door and the FedEx deliveryman was standing there with a package. I signed for it and he went on his way. I saw from the label that the package was from Alice. I opened it up and there was a set of sterling silver forks inside with no note.

_Forks? Why would she send me forks?_ And then I understood her message. I knew where I was going. I was going back to Forks.

The next day, the FedEx man stopped in with another package from Alice. I opened it up and chuckled. There was a beautiful mahogany wooden chest with an etching of a wolf on the lid, and when I opened it, the rest of the sterling silver flatware which came with the forks was inside. There was a short note scrawled in her beautiful hand in the box. _'I thought you might want the rest of the set. It's not like I have any use for it. I'm glad you got the message. Remember, keep your promise to Eddie and open up your heart to love. Be accepting of whatever comes your way. I love you, Bella. Alice.'_


	4. Chapter 4

**_One month later..._**

**Embry's POV**

My imprint was suffering immensely. I felt her pain, and my wolf wasn't happy. The day her husband died I knew. I knew because I was watching a game with the pack, and I doubled over in pain and cried in agony. I wanted to go to her, but I couldn't. It took everything I had in me to not phase and start pawing it to California. In the end, Paul and Quil had to stay with me all night in wolf form so I would remain calm and not jump the gun. The next morning, Charlie received a phone call from Renee stating that Bella's husband had been tragically killed on their way back from their honeymoon in Hawaii, and that Bella was completely devastated.

Charlie and Sue immediately left for California. When they returned after the funeral, they informed us that Bella was barely functioning, and that her mother was staying with her to take care of her. The pull to go to her was enormous by then. Jacob had to give me an alpha order to stay put because I was going out of my mind. I even missed a week of work because the pull was so strong. I called in to the tribal school where I taught and told them I was suffering from a fever and a case of the flu. Fortunately, the flu was actually going around the reservation so it was a plausible excuse.

I sat in my room, reading a book. I still lived with my mother and Billy. Jake's old room had become mine while he and his imprint Kia lived in my mother's old house. They had a six-year-old son named Kyle. Jake and I had grown apart throughout the years. The reason for this was Kia. I had been dating Kia for years, since my sophomore year in high school. She was from the Makah Reservation. We were each other's first everything and I loved her. Then, one day, in the beginning of our senior year she surprised me with a visit in La Push because she finally got her driver's license—that was when Jake imprinted on her. They didn't even try to fight the imprint for me. Hell, Kia didn't even bother breaking up with me, and Jake never apologized or anything.

After Jacob and Kia got together, I threw myself into my schoolwork so I wouldn't think about the two of them together. Sam was Alpha back then, and he made sure Jacob and I never patrolled together. When we were phased together as a pack, I kept running thoughts of my schoolwork through my brain. As a result, Paul, Jared, and Quil ended up graduating from high school with honors, too, because I had inadvertently drilled all of the schoolwork into their brains. The four of us ended up going away for college—Paul and I in Seattle, and Jared and Quil in Pullman. The elders let us go as long as we promised to return to the reservation. The Cullens had left the area one year prior and we hadn't detected any vampires in the area. Heck, none of us had even seen any vampires other than the Cullens. And they were true to their word, they were no trouble at all.

There was a knock on the door to my room. It was Paul. In high school, we barely spoke except during pack activities, but during college we became close. He and I leaned on each other for support because we were the only two there from La Push. Truth be told, I wouldn't have gotten through college without him. There were times when I wanted to give up, but he'd always make me fight. When I was failing both calculus and chemistry, and contemplating quitting, _"Do you seriously want to go back to La Push and watch Jake and Kia flaunt their relationship in front of you? When you go back to La Push, you want to return there a better, improved version of you—armed with a degree, more life experiences, a better haircut, and the ability to tell them to go screw themselves. Besides, it's your fault I'm in this college mess, and I refuse to tackle it alone. So, pull it together, Embry!"_

I ended up pulling it together, but I had to change my major from Neuroscience to Teaching, and lost nearly a year of credits. It took me five years, but I finally graduated. Paul surprised everyone by graduating in three years. He stayed to get his master's degree in educational and counseling psychology so he could make sure I graduated. He really was a true friend.

"I've got news. And you're gonna like it," Paul stated excitedly.

"What news is that?"

"I was at the gym today and guess who was working out?"

"I don't know, Paul. Some hot chick?"

"Not just any hot chick, Embry. Your hot chick."

"Paul, I'm not in the mood for..."

"Your imprint, Embry. It was Bella. She's back in Forks."

I bolted to my feet. "What do you mean she's back in Forks? Charlie didn't say anything."

"Probably because he doesn't know."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Oh, I don't know, Embry. You've been moping since you imprinted on her. And I can tell you first hand that trying to fight the imprint is pointless. It hurts."

"How did she look? Was she okay?"

Paul sighed, "She looked sad. I almost wanted to cry. You know, no one deserves to get someone they love ripped away like she did."

"Yeah, I know. But I don't even know what to say to her. I can't exactly go to her and say, 'Hey, I know your husband just died, but I'm your destiny because Taha Aki said so. By the way I shift into a gigantic wolf sometimes and I was designed to kill vampires.'"

"Listen, Embry. She looked pretty lonely to me. Maybe you should just start with being her friend, she can probably use one about now. She's grieving, that much is true, and you're going to have to give her time to process her grief."

After Paul left, I was antsy. I couldn't get thoughts of Bella out of my head. How do I approach her? I phased into wolf form and started running through the woods to think. I found myself outside of Charlie Swan's old house, the one he had given to Bella as a wedding present. The lights were on and she was on the phone with someone.

"_I don't know if I can do this. I miss him so much. He was my life,"_ she sobbed.

"_Bella, you're strong. You can go on without him. You must go on without him. We all do."_

"_But, Lisa, I have no one. My friends are all back on the reservation at home."_

"_Well, what about the reservation your father lives on? Native Americans tend to be very friendly." _

"_The people at the reservation here are unfriendly. I mean, extremely unfriendly. When I went to my father's wedding, most people didn't even acknowledge me. After they were introduced to me, they didn't even attempt to talk to me. I had the most uncomfortable two days of my life here."_

Damn it! I really couldn't blame her for feeling that way because everyone ignored her instead of being open and friendly at the wedding. I was one of those people.

"_Maybe the Quileutes are one of those tribes that like to keep their culture their own."_

"_Yeah, I think you're right, Lisa. I miss Eddie so much."_

"_So do I. But Mark and I miss you, too."_

"_I can always come home, you know."_

"_Absolutely not, I'm going to refuse you entry until you at least go out on three dates."_

"_Can I come home after that?"_

"_Bella, you know you're always welcome here. We explained to you that we only had you leave because you needed to go on with your life. If it were my choice, my son would still be alive and you and he would still be living in the in-law and maybe telling us that you're having a baby."_

"_We wanted so badly to start a family. I guess the fates had something different in store for us."_

"_Yes, but in the end, life—no matter what tragedies it may bring forth—has a tendency to work itself out. Eddie was such a good soul that those of us who were blessed to have him in our lives will be touched by him forever."_

"_I guess you're right."_

"_Stay strong, Bella."_

"_I will."_

"_Call me anytime."_

"_I will. I miss you. Tell Mark that I miss him, too."_

"_Okay, goodnight sweetheart."_

"_Goodnight."_

Bella ended the call and started sobbing. _"Oh, Eddie, why did you leave me alone in this cruel world? I don't think I have the strength to go on without you."_

I wanted to go to her, wrap my arms around her, and tell her that I was there for her so badly. I couldn't though. I stayed in the woods behind her house and waited until she fell asleep to run back to the reservation.

Two weeks passed and I continued observing Bella through her window. I felt like a damned stalker. Bella hadn't come to La Push yet. She had called Charlie and told him that she was back in town, but didn't really tell him anything else. I decided to hit the gym earlier than usual. When I arrived, I saw Bella. She was walking into a Pilates class. I made a snap decision and joined in the class. She found a place for her mat in the back row, and I took the spot next to her.

"Bella, right?" I said to her.

"Yes." She turned to me, trying to place me. "Oh, you're Embry."

"That's right, you remembered."

"Well, of course, you weren't feeling so good the night of my father's wedding reception."

_I wasn't? Oh, yeah. I lied to her that night. Great start with your imprint, Embry._ "Right. Right. I'm better now."

"So, how long have you been doing Pilates?" she asked.

"This is actually my first time. I heard that it's really good for conditioning so I thought I'd join in and give it a try." God, I hope Pilates is good for conditioning. I really don't know a thing about it.

"Well, it actually helps, in developing your flexibility and posture by developing your core. You use your abs a lot in this class."

"I'm looking forward to it."

I got through the one-hour class. I actually didn't mind it at all. The women kept staring at me because I was the only guy there. After class I asked Bella if she wanted to grab a coffee. She consented, and I took her to the little coffee house across the street and we sat down to talk.

"So, Bella, what brings you back to Forks?"

She stirred her coffee nervously, as if she was contemplating how to reply. It was almost as if her focus was entirely on dissolving the tiny crystals of sugar. She bit down nervously on her bottom lip, closed her eyes, and nodded before opening her eyes and replying, "Oh... My husband passed away suddenly, and I needed a fresh start."

I wasn't expecting her to be honest and upfront. Damn, how am I going to reply to her?

"I'm so sorry. I heard about his death from your father. You must be devastated." I truly was sorry. _She looked so sad, and she didn't deserve to be in the pain she was in._

"I am, but I'm taking it one day at a time. I was surrounded by memories of him in California so I thought I'd move back here and try to go on with my life here in Forks. At least, temporarily."

_No, not temporarily. Please. _

"So, what have you done so far, since moving to Forks?"

"Well, I've decided to renovate the house that I live in for starters. It's pretty rundown."

"Are you going to call in contractors?"

"I'm not sure yet. I'm toying with the idea of doing at least some of the work myself."

"I can help you. I'm a teacher so I'm off during the summer," I offered.

"Oh, that's right. Your mother told me that you were a teacher when I met her at my father's wedding. I'm a teacher, too."

"Wow, we have something in common. What do you teach?"

"I'm a special education teacher. I just completed my master's degree in December."

"I teach the third and fourth grade class at the tribal school in La Push."

"Oh, I adore that age group. The kids are still innocent, but just developing their snarkiness. The things that come out of their mouths are so funny."

"I know, I had one girl in my class last year ask me, _'Excuse me, Mr. Call. My mother says that all men are brainless idiots. How did you become a teacher?'_"

"What did you say to her?" Bella chuckled.

"Oh, I told her that I went to college and worked hard to earn my teaching degree. I also told her not all men were brainless idiots; to which she replied, _'I'll have to talk to my mom. She's an expert on men. She's been married three times.'_"

"Oh, my goodness." She laughed. "The things kids say."

"Will you be teaching in September?"

"I'm actually in the process of job hunting right now. Forks doesn't have any openings for special needs teachers at the present time, but I've put in applications in Port Angeles and the Makah Reservation."

"Um, we're looking for a new special education director in La Push. The woman who used to be the special education director had a baby and decided not to return."

"Oh, really? Interesting. Thanks for the tip."

"Sure, no problem."

"You know, I have experience teaching at a tribal school. My husband was a Mission Indian from California and we lived on the reservation. I taught at the tribal school there, and he was a financial planner at a bank in San Diego."

"Wow! I'd like to hear about your reservation sometime. Are you a member of the tribe through your husband?"

"Well, no, it's a bit complicated. Unfortunately, he passed away immediately following our honeymoon before any paperwork could be processed. So, though I do have a marriage certificate, I never applied for tribal membership. In fact, I didn't even have a chance to do a name change at the DMV for my license and what not. That's why I'm still Isabella Swan, legally."

"I really am sorry that your husband was taken from you."

"It was fate," she said quickly, and shifted uncomfortably in her seat. She tapped her fingers on the table nervously. "Well, I should get going. It was really nice talking to you, Embry." She stood up abruptly.

"It was great talking to you, too. Will you be at the gym tomorrow?"

"Yes, I'm there everyday around this time."

"I'll see you there, then."

"That would be nice." She jogged across the street to her truck as if she couldn't wait to escape. She drove what looked like a two to three year old Ford F-150. It probably belonged to her husband because it still had California plates on them."

I drove home to take a shower. I was pretty happy with the results of my encounter with Bella today. One thing was for sure, she was a very open girl and extremely honest, too. It was obvious that she was trying hard to move on with her life. She was trying to be as honest as possible, and I was trying my best to get to know her without the issues of my being a wolf or her being my imprint getting in the way.

For the next two weeks, Bella and I continued our gym and coffee shop routine, and I got to know her fairly well. I really liked her. She was funny and intelligent, and she always spoke her mind. I wanted to ask her out on a date, but I wasn't exactly sure how to go about it. _What if she said no? What if it's too soon?_

On Saturday evening, the pack and imprints had a bonfire on the beach. I decided to go for a walk when I spotted Bella far on the other end of the beach. She was sitting on the sand and watching the waves in the dark.

She was having a conversation, it seemed, with her deceased husband. I hid behind a rock to listen, _"How are things Eddie? Things are okay here. I made a friend. His name is Embry. He's a teacher like I am. He's very nice. We go to the gym, and then have some coffee together and talk afterwards. Things are getting better for me. I cry a lot less at night now, but I still miss you, Eddie. I wish there were some way for us to visit each other, but you're in heaven and I'm pretty sure I'm somewhere close to hell. I've applied for jobs around the area. I've received phone calls from the tribal schools at the Makah Reservation and the Quileute Reservation for interviews. It looks like the Port Angeles School District hired from in-house. Hopefully, I'll get one of those two jobs. If not, I'll just take the year off. We had enough in savings so I'll be okay. Well, I should leave you alone now. I miss you Eddie, and I love you. I know that you wanted me to go on with my life and find someone to love, but I don't know if I can. I don't know if I can give my heart to someone else. I just need you, Eddie. I need to sit and tell you about my day at dinnertime and go shopping for groceries on Saturday mornings with you. I need you to hold me when I cry and reassure me when I'm feeling sad. I need you to make love to me until we fall asleep and wake up in your arms in the morning. I need you so much, but I promised you that I would stay strong so I will. I really will. I love you, Eddie."_ And then, she broke down and started crying.

I couldn't stop myself. I found myself making my way to her. I sat down next to her on the sand and put my arm around her. She gasped at first, and then when she noticed it was me, she put her head on my shoulder and continued to cry until she fell asleep. I picked her up and ran with her in my arms to her truck. I located the keys to her vehicle, and drove her home. She stayed asleep the entire time. I scented out her room, tucked her into bed, and kissed her softly on the forehead before running back home in wolf form.

On Sunday, I was restless. My wolf was itching to see Bella, but I didn't want her to feel overwhelmed. Around five pm, my wolf won the battle. I decided to go and see my imprint. Should I bring her flowers? Maybe I should pick up a cake and bring it to her? Hmm... I walked out of my room and smelled something delicious. In the kitchen, I saw my mother's beef stew simmering in the crockpot for Sunday dinner. By the looks of it, it was almost done. That should work. I unplugged it, placed the whole thing into the car, and drove to Bella's house. I rang her doorbell.

"_Who is it?"_ she called.

"It's Embry Call." She opened the door. "Hi, how are you feeling? I... I brought some beef stew."

"Oh, wow! I haven't had beef stew in ages. Thank you. Would you like to come in?"

"Sure." I walked inside and set the crockpot down on the dining table.

"That's a lot of stew. Will you be joining me for dinner?"

"I'd love to." She set the table and served some beef stew for each of us. We sat down to eat.

"Did you make this yourself? It's delicious."

"No, my mother made it. I can't take credit for it. I'm not a good cook at all. I can make a mean Reuben though. I load it up with tons of sauerkraut."

"I love Reubens, you'll have to make one for me sometime."

"I'd love to construct a sandwich for you." In actuality, I would do whatever she wanted.

Bella fiddled nervously, stirring her fork around her stew nervously. She looked into my eyes and spoke earnestly, "Embry, I wanted to thank you for last night. You brought me home and put me to bed, didn't you?"

"Yeah, I did."

"Well, thank you. I was at a low point, missing my husband, and you were there for me."

"You looked like you could use a friend."

"Yes, I needed one." She smiled shyly and nodded.

We sat and talked during dinner. She told me about some of the renovations she had planned for her house. She, apparently, had made the decision to have a contractor do the work because she realized she pretty much wanted to gut the house and update the interior. I recommended Sam's contracting company to her and offered to speak to him if she wanted. She accepted my offer gratefully.

We talked about college. I went to the University of Washington while she attended Stanford University. Apparently, that was where she met her husband. She earned her master's degree from San Diego State University. I told her I was still in the process of earning mine online. I still had another year or so to go.

We talked until around ten pm before I headed for home with my mother's washed and empty crock pot. I insisted she refrigerate the leftovers for herself. Of course, I had about four huge helpings so there really hadn't been much left. She was floored by how much I ate. When I walked into the house, Charlie and Sue were visiting Billy and my mother. They were having cheesecake.

"You know, Embry, I had an entire crockpot full of beef stew ready for dinner. Imagine my surprise when I found the stew had disappeared from the kitchen—crock pot and all," my mother commented.

"Do you mean this crockpot?" I sheepishly held the empty appliance out in front of me.

She raised a single eyebrow at me. "Well, what happened to our dinner? We had to order pizza."

"Oh, I thought I'd bring some dinner over to Bella. I told her that you made it especially for her."

She smiled and chuckled. "That's fine, sweetheart. Next time, warn me. Did she like it?"

"Yeah, she loved it."

"Good."

"How is she doing, Embry?" Charlie asked.

"She misses her husband, but she's trying to stay strong and move on with life. Oh, and she has an interview at the tribal school here for the special needs director position tomorrow morning, and one at the Makah tribal school on Tuesday."

"She's always been an intelligent girl."

"Yeah, I noticed. Um, I'm going to my room to relax now."

"You do that, Embry. Oh, and thanks for keeping her company."

"No problem. I truly enjoy spending time with her." It was true. I liked being with Bella. Whenever we were together, we never ran out of things to say to each other.

Around five o'clock on Monday, Sam and I made our way to Bella's house. Emily armed us with cinnamon rolls. We rang the doorbell and she answered right away.

"Embry, what brings you to my house on a Monday night and who is your friend?"

"Bella, this is Sam Uley—my friend. He's the contractor I told you about. I thought I'd just bring him by so you could tell him your ideas."

"Oh, sure, come inside. Welcome, Mr. Uley."

"Please call me Sam. It's a pleasure to meet you." He handed Bella a plate. "These cinnamon rolls are from my wife Emily. They're homemade."

"My goodness, that wasn't necessary at all. Please thank her for me."

"I will. So, what did you want to do with your house?"

Bella told Sam her ideas. He took some measurements and said he'd return in a few days with some plans. She thanked us and we went on our way.

"She really likes you," Sam noted in the truck. "You should ask her out on a date."

"Too soon," I said. "She's still hung up on her husband."

"You're helping her to get over him, though."

"Yeah, but she really loved him."

"That's usually why people get married, Embry."

"Yeah," I sighed. "Will I be able to even live up to the image of her husband?"

"Just be yourself, Embry. You don't want to be the same as her husband. Heck, you don't even want to replace him. You just want to become 'her Embry,' nothing more, nothing less."


	5. Chapter 5

**_Five months later..._**

**Bella's POV**

I had just returned from visiting Lisa and Mark in California and Eddie's gravesite. It's officially been over a year since my husband was cruelly taken from me. I was finally making some progress in my life. It didn't hurt so much anymore to think about Eddie. Lately, I've been finding myself looking back on our memories together fondly instead of breaking down at the thought of his death. Moving to Forks was just what I needed. I had a great job and a best friend in Embry Call. He and I would talk for hours on end about everything and nothing. I felt a connection to him.

I was hired at the Quileute tribal school as the special education director. It was a great job, and a step up from just plain teaching because I was able to plan and implement the entire program. I had two other special education teachers working on my team. Like the tribal school at the Mission Indian Reservation, this school had students from kindergarten thru twelfth grade so I was responsible for a great deal of students.

I found the Quileutes to be exceedingly friendly, unlike my first impression of them. Sam's wife Emily, was very nice, as was another lady named Kim. I also renewed my friendship with Billy's daughter Rachel, who was married to the school's guidance counselor, Paul Lahote. On Saturdays, I had dinner with Charlie and Sue and on Wednesday nights, I had a standing invitation from Embry's mother Tiffany, to have dinner at their house. Sundays were the best though. On Sundays at five on the dot, Embry would always show up with a dinner of some sort and we'd dine together. It just happened that way, starting with the beef stew five months ago.

As far as my house was concerned, the interior looked completely different from how it was when I first moved in. I actually ended up expanding both floors of the house. The entire upstairs was gutted and redone. I added a third bedroom and turned my bedroom into the master suite with an ensuite bathroom, plus a balcony overlooking the beautiful forest. The two other bedrooms upstairs had a shared bathroom. The downstairs was also changed. I had the kitchen updated and enlarged and a bathroom added so guests wouldn't have to run upstairs to use the bathroom. I also had an office built for me plus a deck so that I could sit outside on sunny days. Throughout the house I had brand new hardwood flooring installed as well. I used the money Eddie and I had saved up for a down payment for a house plus some of my personal savings. I still had the million-dollar settlement from the accident, Eddie's life insurance payout, which was much more than he had told me, plus his 401K which was still accumulating. When we were living in California, we didn't have much as far as expenses were concerned. We lived, for all intents and purposes, with Eddie's parents. It also helped that Eddie was a shrewd investor, he was a Stanford educated financial planner, after all. The only bills we really had were our student loans and car payments. And neither of us was extravagant in our spending.

I was finally learning to live without Eddie and was happy. I also was hopeful that maybe Embry might want to take our friendship a step further and perhaps go out on a date with me. We got along so well. He was kind, witty, and we had many common interests. He was an excellent teacher, too. I've observed him in his classroom and he had a knack for keeping his students interested. He was firm, but relaxed in his way of teaching. It was around six pm on a Wednesday night and I was actually on my way to have dinner at his house.

I was on my way to La Push when I was blocked by a person standing in the middle of the road leading there. I unrolled the window and called out, "Sir! Are you okay?"

He was in front of me in a millisecond. "Bella Swan, how wonderful to see you again."

Oh shit, it was Laurent, the vampire with the dreadlocks who had been part of the group of nomads that interrupted the Cullen's baseball game all those years ago. I'm dead. Well, I guess I'll be seeing Eddie sooner than I thought; although, I was kind of annoyed because I was finally beginning to enjoy life again and hadn't even kissed Embry.

"Don't you remember me? I'm offended, Bella," the vampire continued when I didn't say anything. I gulped.

I tried to roll up the window, but he was too fast for me and with one hand, he grabbed me and pulled me out of my truck through my window.

"You smell divine and you look even better. I think that you and I can have fun together, don't you think?"

"Please don't," I whimpered out.

"Oh, now Bella, you should know that you can't say no to vampires. We're too strong for weak, little humans like you."

"_You're not weak, Bella. You're strong. Fight!"_ I recalled what Eddie used to tell me whenever I would self-deprecate myself.

"Leave me alone, you sick, twisted bastard," I shouted at the top of my lungs and screamed as loud as I could.

"_Hehehe._ Screaming will do nothing, child. Your precious Cullens aren't here to help you. I just want one thing, well—two—now that your body has matured." He chuckled maliciously.

I stood up and tried to run. He zipped in front of me and was millimeters away from my face. I screamed again. "Oh, I do love a feisty victim." He inhaled my scent. "Absolutely mouthwatering."

"Get away from me!" I shouted. "Eddie! Embry! Somebody help!" How they would help me, I had no idea. One was in heaven and the other was human, but the fact that I called for Embry was a testament to how much he'd come to mean to me.

And then a miracle happened, Embry appeared in front of me, stark naked in the middle of January. "Is this asshole bothering you, Bella?"

"Yes. How did..." I trailed off as I saw a pack of seven humongous wolves growling at the vampire.

"I don't believe it," the vampire muttered as he backed away from me.

Embry picked me up and put me back in the truck. "Wait here," he ordered with a wink. I nodded my head up and down. He gave me a quick kiss on the lips, and I watched as he morphed into a grey wolf with black spots.

My cell phone chirped with a text message from a restricted line: _'__**Don't worry, Bella. He'll keep you safe. Trust him. Keep an open mind. If you can handle vampires, you can handle these guys. Open your heart up to love. He's your destiny. I love you. Alice.'**_

_Who is my destiny?_

**_'Embry, you dunderhead. I swear, Bella, sometimes you are so slow,' _**read another text message.

_Embry's my destiny?_

**_'Yes!'_**

"_You know, Alice, you could at least send me your cell phone number and email address. I understand why we can't see each other, but for Christ's sake, we can still keep in touch," _I thought.

And miracle of all miracles, she sent me both her cell phone number and her email address in her next text message.

I watched as the wolves circled around the vampire. He was surrounded and had nowhere to go. Suddenly, a sandy colored wolf dove onto the vampire. He was kicked off of him, but another wolf, this time a black one, attacked the vampire, knocked him down, and gnawed his arm off while another one, a silver one, took off his leg. Wolf Embry took the opportunity to bite the vampire's head off.

The wolves all morphed back into human form. They threw the vampires pieces into a pile and one of them handed Embry a lighter. He lit the pieces, which immediately caught alight and started burning. Purple smoke started emitting from the flames. When he was sure the flames were completely burned out, Embry made his way to my truck and told me to move over. He took the wheel, thank God, because I certainly wasn't going to be able to drive. The rest of the pack hopped into the bed of my truck.

"I'll explain everything to you when we get to La Push."

"Um, yeah, that would be nice. And thank you for saving me."

"You're welcome."

I took in the sight of him and remembered that he was stark naked. Oh my Lord, he is simply delicious looking. It's been awhile since I've been this close to a naked man, but... holy hell... this guy is chiseled.

My cell phone buzzed with a text message, _'__**He's hung, too. Take a look. ~A.'**_

My eyes widened at the text message. I couldn't help, but look now that Alice sent me the text message. Dear God, I'm going to hell. I have a naked man driving my deceased husband's truck and I'm ogling him. There has to be all sorts of laws against that in the Bible. I shifted uncomfortably in my seat and looked straight ahead.

I received another text message, **_'Keep staring ahead. Now he's checking out your body. Um, sit up straight, that way your boobs will stick out. ~A _**

**_P.S. You're so lucky to have boobs, I wish I had boobs. Jasper says I have nice nipples, though.'_**

I straightened out my posture, and then I started guffawing at the thought of the text message. "What's so funny?" Embry asked.

"Um, my friend is... Well, she's not very well endowed in the chest area and she wishes that she had breasts."

"Oh, yeah, um... breasts on a girl are nice." He spoke at my chest. If I didn't know better, Alice planned this.

He pulled the truck up in front of his house. The rest of the humans/wolves hopped out and went inside. They were all naked. Oh my goodness, I just noticed that Seth's sister Leah is among the group and so are Seth, Jacob, Jared, Sam, and Paul.

Embry turned to me and fixed his eyes on me. "Whatever you do, try to keep an open mind."

"Of course."

"I'm still the same guy who is your friend."

"I never said you weren't."

He nodded his head and we walked inside. I noticed everyone was putting on their clothes and the living room was packed. It appeared as if their wives had shown up and, in Leah's case, her husband. My father and Charlie were here, as well as, Billy and Tiffany, and a man known around the reservation as Old Quil.

"I'm just going to put some clothes on," Embry said. He went to his room and was back, dressed, in no time. I sat down in a chair, trying to make sense of everything which transpired.

"Well, Bella, I'm sure you're curious as to who this lady and these men are," Billy stated.

"Slightly," I replied. "Well, I know who they are. I guess the question I have is, what are they? I just saw them morph into humongous wolves then systematically dismantle a bloodthirsty vampire. Are you like mighty morphing wolf people?"

"Mighty morphing wolf people… I like that." Paul laughed.

_Great, the school guidance counselor is a morphing wolf. Why me?_

"We're shapeshifters. We're designed to kill vampires and vampires alone," Sam explained.

"Oh, I dated a vampire once. They're not all evil, you know."

"We know you dated one. You dated Edward Cullen. I was extremely happy when you broke up with him." I noticed my father said Edward's name coldly.

"He was a nice guy, Dad. He and I just weren't meant to be together. He was from a different era."

"Yeah, and he was a bloodsucking leech," Jacob's wife, Kia, scoffed.

"I'm sorry, Kia, right?"

"Yes."

"I don't know who you think you are, but where I come from, we don't judge people by what they are and we certainly don't censure people we've never met."

"He's not a person. He's a bloodsucker. I think it's awful you dated a bloodsucker."

"And you're married to a guy who changes into a furry wolf with canines. What's the difference?"

"Um, my husband happens to save human lives from those bloodsuckers you call friends."

And then it dawned me. I realized why these people and my father were so rude to me at my father's wedding.

"Dad, did you deliberately distance yourself from me for all those years because of Edward Cullen?" I asked. He didn't say a thing so I continued. "You didn't want to meet Eddie because you thought he was Edward Cullen, huh? It was only after I enclosed a photo of the two of us that you suddenly showed up to the wedding. I was really surprised to receive your positive response, but now I know why. You were ready to write me off because of who I once dated."

My father had the decency to look ashamed.

"And you people were all rude to me at my father's wedding for the same reason."

"You have to understand that the Cullens are vampires. They're bloodthirsty!" Jacob argued.

"I only experienced kindness from them so I wouldn't know. Then again, I don't judge people before I meet them."

"Vampires aren't people, they aren't even human."

"Neither are you. I don't know of any normal humans who morph into wolves, do you? Besides, the Cullens were once human, and it's not like they chose to become vampires. How did you know to come and find me anyway?"

"Alice Cullen called me frantically crying that you were in danger, and that we needed to come and find you. She told us exactly where you were. Embry was already on his way because he felt the p... because he sensed that you were in danger," Jacob admitted.

"So, a vampire gave you the heads up that I was in danger, and even told you where I was, thus saving my life."

"Yes, but..."

"I need to leave. Thank you for saving my life." I left Embry's house without saying another word or looking back. My mother always taught me that if I didn't have anything nice to say, I shouldn't say it at all and I was about to say some really mean and nasty things. I started the engine to my truck and drove home. I walked inside, locked all the doors, and poured myself a glass of wine, hoping it would settle my rankled nerves.

My cell phone rang a few minutes later. "Hello?"

"_It's Embry. Do you have a minute to talk?"_

"Not tonight. I really need some time alone to process everything that just occurred."

"_Please?" _he begged.

Alice's text message urging me to trust Embry and to keep an open mind came to the forefront of my mind.

"What do you want to talk to me about, Embry?"

"_Can I come over?"_

"Sure." I sighed, and then hit end on my phone.

My cell phone rang again a second later.

"Hello?"

"_Bella, it's Alice."_

"Hi, Alice. It's so good to hear your voice after all these years."

"_It's great to hear yours, too. Listen, we can catch up later. This call has to be quick. You need to hear Embry out and keep a very open mind. You love him Bella. Your love for him equals that of your love for Eddie and you know I'm right. Don't shut him out of your life, Bella. Embry is a good guy. Give him a chance just like you did Edward and Eddie. And... Oh my God! You've got to add some variety to your life. Every single male that you've either dated, married, or are considering dating have the initials E.C. At least you won't have to get rid of the monogrammed towel set you received as a wedding gift."_

"Alice?" I prompted because she was completely off topic. "What is it about Embry that you need to tell me?"

"_Oh, right! I keep going off track. It's just that I'm so excited to hear your voice! It's been too long! I'm so glad I can see you again, and it's weird. I can see Embry, and I usually can't see the wolves. Let me get back to what we were talking about. Anyway, just keep an open mind and give him a chance. Open up your heart to him, Bella. You can trust him. Now, I have to go. I'll talk to you tomorrow. I love you."_

"I love you, too."

Three minutes later, my doorbell rang. A shirtless, barefoot Embry was standing on the doorstep. I let him inside.

He fidgeted, nervously, before sitting down on the sofa.

"Would you like something to drink?" I asked, taking a sip of my wine.

"Sure. I'll have what you're having," he replied, noticing the open bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon on the coffee table.

I walked to the kitchen slowly. Reaching into the cabinet, I grabbed a second glass, brought it to the sofa, and poured some wine for him.

Embry reached for the glass, and took a sip before saying, "Bella, I'm sorry about Jacob and Tia."

"You don't have to apologize on their behalf."

"Not just them, Bella. I'm sorry for how we all behaved at Charlie's wedding. Well, everyone except for Seth. He has nothing to be sorry about."

"No, he doesn't. He was very kind at the wedding, but you weren't that bad either, Embry. You weren't feeling well. And you don't have to apologize for everyone. You're not responsible for their actions."

"But I do have to apologize for my behavior. You see, something happened between you and me at the wedding."

"Like what?"

"Okay, let me figure out how to explain this. When you came to your father's wedding I..." He paused to get his bearings straight. He twisted his head to the side to contemplate things, and I could almost see his brain thinking. "Let me go about this differently. Do you know anything about soul mates?"

"I do. In fact, three couples in the Cullen family are mated pairs. They're tuned into each other. They feel it when they're apart, and if one of them are hurt or in trouble, they instinctually know where to find them. It's like a magnetic pull."

"This is good, perfect, in fact. Wolves have something similar called imprints. An imprint is your soul mate, your destiny, your eternal love, call it what you will. We're in tune with our soul mates, and instinctually we know when they're happy, sad, angry, in pain, or in danger."

"So, what does this have to do with me?" I asked.

"I... Um… I... I imprinted on you when I met you at your father's wedding."

My eyes widened. "Excuse me?"

"Bella you're my soul mate."

"That's not possible. I was already engaged when I went to my father's wedding."

"I know. Well, I didn't know then, but I know now."

"How could you do that to someone?"

"Bella, imprinting on someone is not a choice. I didn't choose to imprint on you. It just happened. We looked into each other's eyes and, at that point, unknown supernatural forces bound me to you."

"How come you didn't tell me that night?"

"This is the part that I don't want to tell you, but I'm going to be honest with you. Like the rest of the pack, I was upset because you had dated a vampire. You have to understand that my prejudices were brainwashed into me by the pack from the time I was a teenager in high school. We change into wolves due to the presence of vampires, and many of us were upset at the Cullens for residing in Forks because, truth be told, they're proximity to us is what activated the change. One day, we were normal high school students, and the next day we had phased into wolves. We were told we had to protect the reservation from evil vampires, but we couldn't attack the Cullens because of a treaty the previous pack of wolves signed with them back in the 1930's."

"What?" I was completely outraged. Not at the wolves, but at the Cullens. "Are you telling me you changed because the Cullens moved back to Forks?"

"Yes. Their presence activated a gene in those of us who inherited it, and many of us were very resentful at the fact that we became wolves." I shook my head. "Sadly, we also blamed you. We were angry at you for dating a vampire—our sworn enemy—and one whose presence profoundly affected our lives."

"Now that I know that the presence of the Cullens is what initiated all of you to change into wolves, I can understand why you'd all be angry. I would hate to have my childhood interrupted abruptly, and I'm amazed at your resilience and ability to cope. Please believe me when I say I had no idea. I'm so sorry."

Embry balled his hands into fists and tapped his forehead a few times. "This is all wrong. I don't want you to feel sorry at all because you, out of everyone, have no reason to be sorry. The point I'm trying to make is, regardless of why we changed and of our misplaced resentment, it was no excuse for the entire pack to ostracize you at the wedding. I don't know if it was lingering anger from the time we were teenagers, but as grown adults, we should have known better. Most of us had the ability to think for ourselves, but we blindly followed our alpha—the leader of our pack—who, himself, is an immature dolt."

"And I suppose it didn't help that my father believed I was still dating Edward Cullen."

"No, it didn't. I will tell you with absolute certainty that Billy, Sue, my mother, and even Old Quil encouraged Charlie to continue to be involved in your life, but in his obstinance, he refused."

"I'm not surprised. My father and I never really had much of a relationship. He's always been into his own thing—fishing, hunting, baseball—you know the drill. He's still very much the same. Maybe he wasn't ready to be a father. I don't know, but my dad is set in his ways and I doubt he'll change much."

I reflected on my recent relationship with my father, and I realized that I did not know him well at all. Growing up, ninety-five percent of my time was spent with my mother. She was an unconventional mom to be sure, but she loved me fiercely. And if I were hurt, she'd move heaven and earth to see me healthy and whole again. My father, on the other hand, with his decision to exclude me from my life due to my past involvement with Edward Cullen, had proven to me that his love was conditional.

"Bella." Embry roused me out of my thoughts by calling my name. I turned to him, and looked into his earnest eyes. "I want you to know that I am sorry, truly sorry, for my behavior at the wedding. I promise I will never hurt you again." He paused to take a sip of wine before continuing. "After I imprinted on you, I decided to work on myself and become less judgmental, more open and honest with myself, and I decided to stop thinking together with the pack and make my own decisions. Another reason why I didn't tell you is, after your father received your wedding invitation, I found out you were happily engaged to be married. It wouldn't have been fair to break you up. The only thing that mattered to me at that point, was your happiness no matter what the cost to me."

He sacrificed his happiness for me. If the tables were turned, I'm not so sure I could have done the same as Embry did. Giving up a soul mate is a huge sacrifice. "Thank you. I'm happy Eddie and I had our time together no matter how short it was. He was a good man."

"Yes, I can tell from the stories you've told me."

_Truth be told. Eddie and Embry probably would have gotten along well._

"And now, Embry? What about us now?"

"Usually, when a wolf meets his imprint, he acts on it right away. He forgets everything about anything and the only thing that matters to him is his imprint's happiness. It can be a cruel thing. I dated Jacob's imprint Kia, for two years; as soon as he imprinted on her, wham, she forgot completely about me and left me for him. A similar thing happened between Sam, Emily, and Leah. Sam and Leah were engaged, he imprinted on Emily, and the next moment, Leah was tossed aside like yesterday's newspaper. I couldn't do that to anyone. I had firsthand knowledge that imprinting was unfair. So, I had to let you go. You were Eddie's and I couldn't possibly interfere. It would have been wrong in so many ways. When you returned to Forks after Eddie's death, I decided to get to know you, Bella Swan, as a person, not as my imprint. And I liked you. I do like you. I love you, in fact. I'm just hoping that you feel the same way about me."

And there they were—the big questions: _Do I love Embry Call? Can I love Embry Call after Eddie? Can I open my heart to love again?_

One of Eddie's final words rang through my brain, _'You're still young, and if you meet someone, love him like you love me. Keep your mind and your heart open to new possibilities; the world is a big place. Open your heart to love again. You're destined for greatness, honey. I love you, Bella.' _

My husband had been correct. I was still young and Embry was a great guy, someone I could love. He was my very best friend in the world, and I realized I had enough room in my heart to love Eddie and him both. Somehow, without even knowing I was doing it, I had opened up a space for Embry in my heart.

I looked him in the eyes and said, "I love you, too, Embry." And my heart jumped. I didn't feel so cold and alone anymore. I felt at peace. I had opened my heart to love again.

"Good," Embry said, and leaned in to kiss me. And I felt sparks. Real live sparks. Our kisses became more heated and we couldn't seem to stop, but then I heard Embry's stomach growl.

"Are you hungry, Embry?"

"Sort of..." His stomach growled again and he admitted, "I missed dinner."

"Didn't you eat at your mother's?"

"No, after you left, the pack and imprints got into a heated argument with Jake and Kia. I left them arguing and called you. I was worried about you. Then, I ran over in wolf form to your house."

"Well, come on then, I'll make you some spaghetti. Honestly speaking, I'm hungry, too. All I've had is wine for dinner."

"Thanks, Bella."

An hour later, we were completely sated after Embry had four servings of spaghetti, and I had one. If there's one thing that could be said about him, he had a huge appetite. It really wasn't fair how he was able to eat so much and keep his weight down. All I had to do was look at food, and I'd gain weight.

We turned the TV on and watched some ridiculous reality show for a while, but were back to our frenzied kissing a few minutes later.

"I should go," Embry said around ten pm. "We have work tomorrow."

For some reason, my heart jolted when he said that. I didn't want him to leave, and I found myself saying, "Stay. Stay the night."

"Are you sure, Bella? I don't want to rush things. We haven't even gone out on a date."

"One thing I learned over the last year is, sometimes, you just have to jump to it and do things without thinking. Eddie was a planner; he mapped everything out. It was a great quality about him, but when you're hit with something so unexpected as death, all of that planning becomes fruitless. Who knows what will happen tomorrow? Life throws so many unexpected things our way that we simply can't plan for, sometimes it's better to just dive right in without thinking about it."

He smiled, pulled me closer to him, and whispered, "I like your way of thinking," before kissing me again. I was instantly lost in his kisses.


	6. Chapter 6

**Embry's POV**

At around five am, I stirred awake, my thoughts immediately turning to the last night. Bella and I spent the evening chatting over a bottle of wine, discussing our past relationships and our future together as a couple. In between, we shared a few kisses, leading to more kisses, and then a frenzied make-out session. We ended the evening by expressing our love to each other with our bodies, culminating in my marking her as mine. I didn't have to explain marking to her—she understood. Apparently, vampires marked their mates, too.

Bella looked peaceful as she slept in my arms. She had a serene smile on her face, and I couldn't help but make love to her once again. We were jolted into reality when her alarm clock went off at 6:20 am.

"Crap! We have work!" I gasped.

"Okay, we shower here, drive to your house, you get dressed, then we go to work. How does that sound?"

"Perfect!"

We both dove into the shower together and got cleaned up. It took everything I had in me not to claim her again in the shower. My wolf was urging me to mate with her again, but responsibility called. I had to put my shorts from last night back on, but it didn't matter. I took the wheel of her truck and floored it back to the reservation. I bolted into my house, changed quickly, grabbed my bag, and rushed back into her truck. We had about ten minutes to spare so we stopped at Mrs. Ateara's store, bought a few pastries and two coffees, and made our way to the tribal school. I dropped her off at her office, shut the door, planted a deep kiss on her lips, and made my way to my classroom. It was going to be a long day. She was only four doors down, but it felt like she was a million miles away. I just wanted her by my side. Was I asking for too much?

Paul stopped by in the classroom around ten am while the kids were taking a test. He was the school's guidance counselor. "You marked her," he noted.

"How did you know?"

"I ran into her. She smells different. How was it?"

"Incredible, but I hate being away from her. I feel like she needs to be right next to me or something will happen to her."

"Yeah, that's how it was for Rachel and me after I first claimed her. I couldn't get my mind off of her, and I was worried all the time for her safety." He patted my shoulder. "Don't worry, buddy. It's just in the beginning after you first claim her. Everything will simmer down soon."

"That's good to know. What happened last night after I left?"

"It wasn't pretty. To make a long story short, Rachel and Emily flipped out on Kia, and the bitch fight of the century occurred. Charlie is upset with Bella for defending vampires, but she made a valid point, we wouldn't have been able to save her life were it not for a vampire. Oh, and now Sue is pissed off at Charlie. He slept on Billy's sofa last night."

"Gee whiz! All of this drama because a vampire cared enough about Bella to warn us that she was in danger? That's really messed up." I shook my head. "And would Charlie prefer it if the vampire didn't warn us that his daughter was about to be killed? He's ridiculous!"

"Yep, he is ridiculous. By the way, I apologized to Bella for my part in this. I feel terrible about my past behavior."

The good thing about Paul was, unlike Jacob, he always owned up to his mistakes without fail. It was part of the reason why he was such my best friend. I hadn't been friends with Jake for many years. We didn't have much in common anymore.

Bella walked into my classroom just then, and summoned Paul. I could hear her outside whispering to him about the Nampeyo kid in my classroom. _"I need you to observe him in the classroom. He seems extremely withdrawn. He's ten years old and in the third grade. He reads at a first grade level, if that. He can't do simple addition and subtraction. His classmates have already moved onto division. On top of that, his parents have missed the last two IEP meetings, he's frequently late and not just by a few minutes. And not a week has gone by in which he hasn't missed a day or two of school. At this point, we can't pass him onto the fourth grade, it wouldn't be right. I suspect he's going to need to go to a collaborative school where they can provide him with the help he needs."_

I looked over at Jonathan Nampeyo. The poor kid was dealt such a raw deal for parents. He was born a victim of fetal alcohol syndrome. He'd been through social services more times than any kid his age should. He was tiny, roughly the size of a first grader and was terrified as he walked through the hallway. He was frequently bullied, had no friends, and was as poor as dirt. I noticed his hand was trembling as he attempted to write.

"Paul, Jonathan's hand is shaking as he writes. What do you make of that?" I whispered, knowing he could hear me with his heightened wolf senses.

I heard Paul explaining what I just said to Bella.

"_Most likely the effects of the fetal alcohol syndrome. He also has very poor fine and gross motor control," _Bella said. _"One more thing, he's already missed thirty-two days of school."_

"_Three more days and we have to call Child Protective Services." _Paul sighed._ "Alright, I'll go and observe him this afternoon, then we'll meet after school with Embry to discuss the poor kid."_

"_Sounds good to me. Thanks, Paul." _

One month later, Jonathan was taken from his family's home and placed with a loving foster family in La Push that desperately wanted a child. The family that took him in was the Cheneys. Leah Clearwater Cheney and her imprint, Ben, were desperate for a child because Leah was unable to conceive. I actually suggested them to the social worker. Jonathan, together with his little sister, Jillian, were now being cared for lovingly by both Leah and Ben. He was well fed and improving on a daily basis. He would most likely have to attend a collaborative school because he was too far behind, but I had no doubt that this time he would make it. I doubted the Nampeyos would ever regain custody of their children again. They were currently both in jail on several charges of child endangerment. Paul had gone for a home visit together with Bella and me, and we found the parents strung out on drugs. We called the tribal police immediately and they removed the children from the house.

It was Sunday, and Bella and I were relaxing at home. I finally moved in with her yesterday. I slept over at her house every night, and it was becoming ridiculous not to share our lives together. Of course, I could no longer just roll out of bed and run to work, but it was worth it to wake up snuggled up next to my imprint.

The past month had been extremely emotional for Bella. The majority of the pack had come to apologize to Bella as couples. She had a very difficult time accepting some of their apologies, but she did make an effort to rebuild her relationship with them. Jacob and Kia never came to apologize. As a result, my friendship with Jacob, which had already been held together by a thin thread, completely snapped.

As far as the parents were concerned, Bella had no problem with Billy, my mother, or Sue, after learning they had always urged Charlie to maintain a relationship with her. It was his prejudice and his unwillingness to yield which led to his strained relationship with Bella. She was extremely hurt that he had so little faith in her, and his actions proved to her that his love was conditional and not the other way around.

"Embry, we have to hit the grocery store." Bella's sweet voice roused me out of my thoughts.

"Sure. When would you like to leave?"

"Whenever you want." I noticed Bella was twisting her wedding ring around her finger. I knew it was selfish of me, but now that we were living together, I wanted it off. I sighed and grimaced.

"Embry, what's wrong?"

"Bella, when are you going to take your wedding ring off?"

"I..." She glanced down at the ring, then nervously turned to me. "Oh my God. I'm so selfish. I kept it on because I was so used to it, but I didn't take your feelings into consideration. I'm so sorry, Embry."

"It's okay. I just... I don't want to be Eddie's replacement, Bella. I just want to be..."

"You're not his replacement, you're Embry. You're my Embry. Eddie and you have some similarities, but really, you're two completely different people. I would never want you to take Eddie's place, but you need to understand that he'll always have a place in my heart." Bella slipped the ring off of her finger and looked at it longingly. "I'll just go and put this in my jewelry box. Give me a minute, please, and then we can go to the grocery store."

I waited for a few minutes, but she didn't come downstairs. I quietly made my way upstairs. I observed her standing in front of the dresser, with her jewelry box open, staring at the wedding ring. She had tears in her eyes. After noticing my presence, she gasped and quickly closed the jewelry box. She wiped her tears and put on a brave face, "I'm ready to go."

"No you're not, Bella. I can feel it when you're upset." I brought her to sit on our bed, and placed her hand on my chest. "If taking off his ring is making you this upset, then I want you to put it back on."

"Oh, Embry, you're too good to me. I don't want to put it back on. I was just sad because the wedding ring was my last physical connection to him. Putting it in the jewelry box is like permanently sealing the coffin, but he'd want me to do this. Just before Eddie died, he made me promise him that I'd go out and try to meet someone. He knew he was dying, and he didn't want me to be alone. He wanted me to open my heart to love again. He told me to find someone and give my whole heart to him, and you have it, Embry. You have my whole heart."

"You have my heart, my soul, my everything because you're my everything." I pulled her in close, holding her for a minute before tilting her chin up so her eyes met mine. "But I don't want your whole heart, Bella. I don't want it because a part of it will always be with Eddie. He will always have a place in your heart, and I don't mind sharing because the fact that he was thinking about you in his final moments, proves how much he loved you, and how deep your bond with him was." I reached into her jewelry box, grabbed her wedding ring, and held it in front of her. "Keep him with you, Bella."

"Embry, I can't. It would be selfish of me to keep the ring on my finger."

"It was selfish me to even bring it up, Bella. I'm sorry."

"No, Embry. You really brought up a good point. It's been over a year, and he's no longer here. He's part of my past. You are my present and my future."

"Yes, he's part of your past, but he would have been your present and future if fate hadn't thrown a cruel curveball your way." I kissed her on the lips. "How about if we bought you a nice chain to put it on? That way, you can wear it whenever you want to because I'm sure there are times, he's in your thoughts more than usual."

"I like your idea, Embry. I love it."

"Yeah? Well, I love you. All of you—and I'm honored to share a part in your heart with Eddie." I dropped my lips down to kiss her soft lips. "Now, let's go to the store. Do you have the grocery list?"

"I do. It's already in my purse."

"Good. Why don't we drive to Port Angeles for our groceries today? We can have dinner out."

"Sure. It would be a nice change."

Change. Change was a good thing. It was changing my attitude which ultimately led me to be with Bella now. Had I been as prejudiced against her as I was when I first met her, I would still be led around on a leash by Jacob.

And Bella deciding to make a change and move to Forks was also a good thing. I wonder why she decided to move to Forks, considering the way the pack treated her at Charlie's wedding? There's no time like now to ask her.

"Speaking of change, what made you choose Forks as a place to start over?"

Bella started chuckling, then took my hand. "Come with me." We walked downstairs to the kitchen where our silverware chest was. I always thought it was funny how we used real, sterling silver flatware everyday. We used fancy china dishes, too.

"Keep an open mind, Embry. You know how I'm friends with Alice Cullen, right?"

"Yep."

"Okay, so Alice is psychic, she has visions of the future, and most of the time they're pretty accurate. Anyway, I was pondering where I should move to when, all of a sudden, the FedEx delivery guy shows up with a package from her. I open it up, and all it contained was a whole bunch of sterling silver forks. I mean, who sends a package with just forks in it?"

"Forks—it was a hint." I nodded my head. "I like it."

"Alright, so the next day, Alice sent me this beautiful chest with the rest of the silverware in it and a note stating that she thought that I might want the rest of the set. And now that I know that you turn into a wolf, I understand the etching on the lid of the box."

"I'm impressed," I admitted. "I have another question for you, though. What's with the fancy china?"

"They were part of my wedding gift registry, and some also belonged to my grandmother on my mother's side. They're Lenox fine china. After Eddie died, I realized that saving the good china for only special occasions was ridiculous because everyday on this earth is a gift."

I kissed Bella on the lips thinking about how every moment with her was a gift to me. "You're a gift, Bella. I love you. Now, let's get out of here."

"Ditto."

**_Mid-May…_**

The next few months flew by quickly, and the end of the school year was fast approaching. Bella and I would have the summer off. Both of our contracts were renewed so we had no worries about having to look for work. We had been considering vacation plans for the summer. We definitely wanted to go away, but we hadn't come up with a place yet.

One thing was for sure, I was determined to begin my quest of seeing the world. Through speaking with Bella, I knew that she, too, wanted to see the world. Her mother had instilled in her a love of travel. One of the reasons why Renee had left Charlie was because he was, very much, a man of Forks. He was happy where he was and didn't see the need to explore beyond familiar surroundings. It was stifling for Renee so she left, taking their daughter with her.

I glanced over at the bookcase and caught sight of my battered copy of "A Midsummer Night's Dream" by William Shakespeare. I remember when I first had to read it in eleventh grade. It was right after I first phased into a wolf, and I was furious that I inherited a freaky supernatural gene. The play got me through the tough times by making me laugh when I felt hopeless. I actually stole the copy, claiming I had lost it, rather than returning it to the classroom at the end of the school year. And then it dawned on me.

"I want to go to England," I announced, suddenly.

"England? Why England, out of curiosity?"

"Okay, don't laugh. I like reading Shakespeare, and I've kind of always wanted to visit Stratford-Upon-Avon. Besides, you've always wanted to visit the Jane Austen Centre in Bath and see her house in Chawton."

"Since when are you such an expert on England, Embry?"

"Call it a hobby of mine. Besides, I enjoy reading and I picked up things here and there."

"I love the fact that you love to read. Eddie read, but only books on business, which I could never get into." She rolled her eyes, playfully, and smiled. "Great Britain it is, then. There are tons of places that I want to see there."

"Alright, where are we going to stay? And for how long?" The doorbell rang all of a sudden, stopping us both in our tracks. "I'll get it."

I answered the door and the FedEx delivery guy was standing on the porch with a package for Embry Call and Bella Swan. I shrugged my shoulders and signed for it.

"Were you expecting anything, babe?"

"Nope, but I'm pretty sure I know who it's from. Open it."

I ripped the sealing tape off of the box and opened it. Inside were some tour books for Great Britain, what looked like an antique copy of Shakespeare's 'Much Ado About Nothing,' which happened to be my favorite, an original copy of 'Pride and Prejudice' by Jane Austen, a set of keys, and a wrapped gift for me with a card attached. I opened the card and read it out loud, **_'I couldn't resist, haha. Happy Belated Birthday. Alice.' _**I unwrapped the gift and there was a black T-shirt in my size inside with 'Vampires Bite' and a set of bloody, dripping fangs screen-printed on it. Alright, I admit it was funny. I started laughing and so did Bella.

A letter fell out of the tour book. Bella started reading it out loud.

**_Dear Bella and Embry,_**

**_I think your idea to visit Great Britain is wonderful. I can see you going there over and over again. I'm enclosing a set of the keys to my penthouse there. I can't return there for another sixty years, at least, so the place will remain empty. Please, please accept my offer. It's a free place to stay and accommodations in London are ridiculously expensive. I've already had a cleaning crew come in and disinfect the place so there should be no lingering vampire scent to bother Embry. Talk it over together and decide._**

**_Love,_**

**_Alice_**

**_P.S. Bella, I really like Embry. He's a very vigorous lover._**

"Wow, I don't know what to say. This is a really generous offer."

"Alice has a big heart," Bella returned, simply.

"It's just that vampires are supposed to be my sworn enemy, but since meeting you, I've learned that there are good and bad vampires just like there are good and bad people."

"You know how I look at things, Embry?"

"How?"

"I don't see any of the Cullens as vampires, just like I don't see any of the wolves in La Push as wolves. I just see everyone as people. Some are friends; some are not. It's that simple."

I loved her simple logic. She was absolutely correct.

"You're right, Bella. Let's take Alice up on her offer, then. I'm going to wear my new t-shirt the next time we have a pack dinner." I chuckled, thinking of their reaction. "I like Alice, she said I was a vigorous lover. Hey, does that mean she watches us having sex?"

Before Bella could answer my question, the doorbell rang again, this time it was the mailman with an express delivery for me. I opened up the envelope and removed a note in flawless handwriting.

**_I can't help myself, Bella pops into my visions all the time. You are very vigorous and have lots of stamina in bed. I've actually used you as an example to give Jasper sex tips. I'm sooo happy that you're taking me up on my offer! This is a gift card for Harrod's for both of you to use in London. You need new clothes, you look frumpy, and get your hair cut and styled. How the two of you can go out in public looking the way you do, I have no idea. Honestly! Take some pride in your appearance! Alice_**

"Um, Bella? Is she..."

"Just say, thank you, graciously, Embry."

"Thank you, Alice," I said out loud.

A text message came through to my phone, **_"You're welcome.~A"_**

It had been a month since our package from Alice Cullen arrived. The two of us had just landed in London, England. We told everyone that we were going on vacation, but we didn't tell anyone how long we were going for. Most of the pack thought we were crazy for flying all the way to England—they didn't see the point.

As far as the pack was concerned, everyone got along well with Bella with the exception of Jake and Kia. They resented Bella for her past relationship with Edward Cullen, and I had a feeling that Kia didn't like seeing me happy and in love with someone who wasn't her.

My mother and Billy were extremely supportive of our relationship. We had dinner with them every Wednesday night. On the other hand, relations between Bella and Charlie were extremely strained. She was tremendously hurt by his betrayal. As a result, we didn't have dinner with Sue and him on Saturdays anymore. Sue would stop by from time to time with a homemade dessert or a casserole, and sit and chat with us. We got along well with her.

The taxi pulled to a stop in front of a majestic looking building. We rode the elevator up to the penthouse and opened the door. And motherfucking hell, I'm positive that we're in some millionaire's mansion or something.

"Wow!" I said, not accustomed to such grandeur.

"Alice doesn't do anything in half measures," Bella commented. We toured the penthouse and everything was fully furnished and stocked. The kitchen pantry and the refrigerator were also packed with food.

"Oh my God! Is there anything we can do to repay her?" I asked.

"Unfortunately, I have no way of mailing her anything except via email. The thing I've learned though is that Alice really enjoys doing things for people, it gives her a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment so I've learned to accept her gifts graciously."

"Should we go sightseeing then?"

"Absolutely, I slept like a baby on the plane."

"So did I. I'm wide awake now, and hungry. Let's grab a bite to eat first."

And so our vacation started. Bella and I cooked at home for most meals in order to save money, and we'd eat out a couple of times a week. We took side trips on the weekend and were able to visit Stratford-Upon-Avon, Bath, Chawton, and even Scotland. Our holiday ended way too soon to suit our preferences, and we were now on our way back to Forks, and unfortunately, reality.

During the course of our trip, I realized the world was so much bigger than just Washington State. I wanted to tour the world with Bella by my side. Our lives shouldn't be limited to just Forks and the Quileute Reservation, and I told Bella so. She replied that she felt the same way and, at some point during the eight weeks we spent in London, we made a pact to see as much of the world as possible in our lifetime.


	7. Chapter 7

**_Six weeks later..._**

**Bella's POV**

School started back up about a month ago and we were back into the swing of teaching. Embry and I called Alice to thank her for use of her penthouse. She told us to keep the keys because she saw us using the penthouse over and over again.

Embry had gone to the Makah Reservation to play basketball with some of his friends for the afternoon. Meanwhile, I was at home cooking dinner. A few hours later, he came home with a brochure in his hand and a huge smile on his face.

"You look happy," I noted immediately.

"I am." He twirled me around the kitchen, and then pinched a sautéed green bean from the pan on the stove. "I've got to ask you something. How do you feel about living abroad for a few years?"

"Years? How and where?"

"I found this flyer pinned up at the tribal school at the Makah Reservation. The U.S. Department of State is looking for teachers to teach at American schools overseas. We can move to a different country yearly if we want to. The pay is actually much higher than our current salaries now and it includes housing and transportation. On top of that, I might be able to finally put my master's degree in Curriculum and Instruction to good use."

This actually sounded interesting. Hmm... "Okay, hypothetically speaking, say we applied to do this, what happens if we each get hired, but in two different countries."

"They place married couples together."

"We're not married."

He grinned at me with a mischievous expression on his face. Raising a finger in the air, he declared, "I thought about this, and we can get married."

"Are you asking me to marry you?"

"Yeah, will you?"

Was this a marriage proposal? It sure sounded like one. I glanced at him and he still had a grin on his face. Clearly, he was waiting for an answer. "Sure."

"Good, wait here."

Wait a second! Did he just ask me to marry him, and leave?

Embry ran upstairs and came back down with something in his hand. He got down on one knee in front of me, held out a ring, and said, "Bella, you already know I love you with my whole heart. Will you marry me, and travel around the world with me?"

Oh, so this was the real proposal. Nice. What was I supposed to say to this? Embry's proposal was simple and no-nonsense and completely different from Eddie's elaborate, romantic one. They were both romantic, but in different ways.

"Yes, yes, yes! I'll go anywhere with you, Embry."

"And you'll marry me, right?"

"Embry, of course I will. We're practically married already."

"True, so when and how? We have until November 15th to get the applications in."

I shrugged my shoulders. "Um, you pick, I've already had one big wedding so I'll do whatever you want to do."

"I kind of want to elope," he admitted sheepishly, then produced a brochure for a little inn in Nesbit, Washington with wedding packages.

"Aren't you supposed to get married on Quileute land?" I asked. "Aren't those pack rules?"

"I don't have to, I'm not a member of the Quileute Indian Nation and therefore not a member of said pack. Officially, on paper, I'm a member of the Makah Nation and our kids will be, too."

"Okay, I'm going to leave this all up to you, Embry. I think you've had the wedding part planned for a few weeks anyway."

He wagged his eyebrows at me. Sneaky devil.

Two weeks later, Embry and I were married at Alexander's Country Inn. Our small elopement for two ended up being a pretty big deal, with my mom and Phil flying in from Florida and Eddie's parents flying in from California. Billy, Tiffany, Charlie, Sue and seemingly everyone from La Push and his relatives from the Makah reservation attended the ceremony. We didn't even invite most of the people, but they all showed up anyway. It was the most non-secret elopement in the history of elopements.

Embry was going to wear a simple suit and I was going to wear a nice dress, but when we got to the inn, there was a FedEx package from Alice Cullen waiting for us, containing an Armani tuxedo and a gorgeous, white, strapless silk Vera Wang gown. There was a note inside the package, which read, **_"What the hell were you two thinking? By the way, congratulations. I'm so happy for you both! Love, Alice."_**

We were both happy she sent the outfits because we had no idea we were getting married in front of so many people. Some elopement this was. It was even bigger than my first wedding.

This time, I didn't have anyone walk me down the aisle. It was my second wedding after all, and I was an independent woman. Neither Embry nor I had a reception planned. We had been planning on treating our invited guests, which numbered roughly ten to dinner. We weren't expecting all of La Push, the Makah Reservation, and Forks to show up. But everyone surprised us with a potluck dinner prepared by all of the families who came to witness our nuptials. Mrs. Ateara even baked a beautiful three-tiered wedding cake for us.

"Thought you'd get away with eloping, huh?" Kim guffawed.

"Did you do all of this?" I asked.

"Well, Sue, Tiffany, Emily, Rachel, and I did. It's a wedding, Bella, and even if it's your second one, it's still a big deal." I gave Kim a huge hug.

I gave Kim a huge hug. "Thank you, how can I ever repay you for your kindness?"

"You don't owe me anything, but I'd love to have a ladies' night out with Emily, Rachel, and you next Friday."

"You've got it," I replied in agreement.

"Oh, good, because we already have it all planned out."

I chuckled at my friend. When I first met her, she was shy, but once she warmed up to me, I realized she was open and friendly. During the last few months, I had become close to some of the other imprints in Embry's pack—in particular, Emily, Kim, and Rachel. They were very friendly and kind.

I walked up to Sue, Tiffany, and the rest of the ladies, thanked them, and gave them hugs. I was touched by their kindness.

**~XOXO~**

By August of the following year, Embry and I were in Delhi, India at an American School. Embry was teaching a seventh grade class while I taught a second grade class. We lived in an apartment provided to us by the US Department of State and taught students of American diplomats and businessmen. This was definitely a brand new experience for both of us. We stayed in India for two years before we were off to Tokyo, Japan. We loved it so much that we ended up staying for five years. After Tokyo, our next adventure was in Saudi Arabia. We only stayed there for one year. The heat was too much for Embry and I couldn't handle how suppressed women were. Our next city was Madrid, Spain. We were three months into our third year now and absolutely adored the city—the people, the culture, everything was just fascinating.

I had been fighting a stomach bug for the last week and finally ended up seeing a doctor, which was where I was now. Embry practically forced me to go. "Senora Call, I have the results of your examination," the Spanish doctor told me in thick, accented English. "There is nothing wrong with you except for morning sickness."

"Morning sickness? But I'm on the birth control pill."

"You must stop taking it now. You will have your baby in June."

My jaw dropped. "Pardon me? Did you say June? A baby?"

"Si," the doctor confirmed.

"But, I'm too young to have a baby."

"Señora Call, you are thirty-eight years old, it is not considered a young age for parenthood. In fact, you are rather old to be a first-time mother."

_I'm thirty-eight? Where the hell did the time go? Wait a sec! Did the doctor just call me old?_

"Yes, but my husband is only thirty-seven," I insisted. As if that meant anything.

The doctor had the nerve to chuckle at me. "Señora Call, I will see you next month for another appointment. Please take care of your health and the nurse will give you prenatal vitamins on the way out."

"Pregnant?"

"Si, embarazada."

"Embarazada? Are you calling me an embarrassment?"

"No, no, no! Embarazada means pregnant in Spanish."

"Oh, I thought… I don't know what I thought."

"You are surprised, Senora Call, and maybe a little shocked, but your first baby is good news, si?"

"Si," I agreed, but honestly, I wasn't prepared for this at all.

I went home to see Embry who had a huge grin on his face. "How was the doctor's visit, babe? Find out anything new?"

"Yes, I'm not sick."

"I could have told you that."

I glared at my husband.

"We're having a baby."

"I know. I heard the heartbeat two weeks ago."

"And you couldn't tell me?"

"I wanted you to be surprised. Now come and sit on my lap. I'm so happy. We're going to be parents." He wrapped his arms around me and held me tight.

"I'm surprised, but not unhappy. Actually, I'm ecstatic. Are we moving back to Forks now that we're becoming parents?"

"Only if you want to. I'm kind of happy here. I want my babies to see the world. There are wonderful things about Forks and La Push, but you're really only exposed to one way of life. Our kids are meant for bigger and better things."

I smiled at my husband. I felt the same way. It was funny, I didn't think about Eddie so much anymore, but at times like this, I did. His dream was always to have babies and raise them on the reservation surrounded by family, whereas Embry's was the complete opposite—he wanted them to see the world, and be exposed to different cultures. There was nothing wrong with either way, but I Embry's dream aligned more with mine. Maybe, just maybe, Eddie saw that and sent him my way.


	8. Chapter 8

**_Epilogue_**

**_Embry's POV_**

**_Three-and-a-half years later…_**

Alice Cullen wasn't kidding when she predicted we'd be using her penthouse in London over and over again. With her permission, we were now living there with our son year-round. This past January, after Bella found out she was pregnant again, we decided she'd stay at home and raise our children rather than relying on the au pair we had hired. I had no problem with her decision, especially since it would give our kids an upbringing that neither my wife nor I ever had since we were both latch key kids. So, we did not renew our teaching contracts after the current school year ended and decided to return to Forks to raise the kids when the opportunity of a lifetime came up.

While searching on the Internet for available jobs on the Olympic Peninsula, I happened across a job advertisement for a new private American school in London that was desperately seeking a qualified, licensed school teacher able to plan and implement a new curriculum for grades K thru 8. I was curious so I responded by email, and received a reply almost immediately. By the following day, I had interviewed with the headmaster over Face Time and been offered the job. The position I was offered was Dean of Curriculum and Instruction, which resulted in a significant pay raise—more than double my current salary—and provided a stipend for housing, health insurance, and had the additional perk of free tuition for my children when they came of age.

I had been contemplating whether or not to accept the position when I received a text message from Alice Cullen.

**_Live in the London penthouse and keep the housing stipend for your savings. You still have the keys. Bella will love the idea, and your children will grow up seeing the world. Love~A_**

I thanked Alice just like Bella always did and went to tell my wife the great news. She was, as the seer predicted, over the moon with the idea. I accepted the position immediately and as soon as the school year ended, we moved to London.

It was Saturday afternoon, Bella and I were lounging on the sofa, reading, while our son napped in his room. His name was William Mark. His first name was in honor of William Shakespeare, not Billy Black; although, we never discouraged him from thinking our son was named after him. How could we? Both Billy and my mom were completely tickled by the thought, and they'd get all giddy whenever we talked to them on Face Time. Paul and Rachel actually thanked us because it saved them from having to name their son after the tribal chief. They named their son Embry, and I was completely flattered by the gesture. William's middle name Mark was in honor of two men who Bella loved dearly: Mark was Edward's father's name as well as Edward's middle name. Edward's father broke down in tears when he heard our son's middle name.

Bella abruptly stood up, and high-tailed it to the bathroom again. She was pregnant with our second child and due in two weeks. I chuckled because, with the baby sitting on her bladder, she was—for all intents and purposes—waddling.

I decided to go check on Will because it was almost time to wake him up from his nap. I walked into his room and he wasn't there. He must have gotten up already. I looked in our room, the nursery for the new baby, and the rest of the rooms, before checking in the kitchen where I found him.

"Daddy!" he chortled excitedly.

"Did you have a nice nap, Will? What are you doing?"

"Playing."

"In the kitchen. What are you playing?" And then I looked a little closer and noticed the bottom freezer drawer of our refrigerator was open. Clearly, my boy had been digging around in there. I quickly shut the freezer, thinking we had to do a better job of childproofing the penthouse. I squatted down so I was eye level with my son.

"Daddy, my nose got peed."

"You have a stuffy nose, Will?"

"Uh-huh." He nodded.

"You don't have pee in your nose; you have a runny nose."

"No, I got pee in my nose," he insisted.

"Come here, kiddo. I'll help you blow your nose."

I picked him up, and seated him on the counter. Turning to him with a tissue, I got a good look at him, and my eyes bulged in horror. "Oh boy. You really do have peas in your nose."

"I told you, Daddy!" Will shoved his finger up his nostril to try to dig out the frozen peas.

"No, no, no! Stop! Stop! Don't put your finger in your nose!" Oh, man! He just shoved the peas up deeper! What the hell am I going to do? "Bella, can you bring the tweezers from the bathroom?" I called.

I heard the bathroom door open. My wife walked out, taking deep breaths. She handed a pair of tweezers to me. She continued inhaling deeply, then exhaling.

"What's wrong with you? Do you have to go to the bathroom again?" I asked.

"No. I'm just having some Braxton Hicks contractions. I'll be fine in a few minutes." She shifted so she was in front of our son. "What's the matter, buddy? Do you have a splinter?"

"No, I got peas, Mommy!" Will jammed a finger up his nostril again, pushing the peas in even deeper. "Ouchie!"

I turned to Bella. "Don't panic!"

Her mouth was wide open, and she turned from me to our son. "Oh my God! Willie! What did you do?" She tilted his head back and peered into his nostril. "Embry, his nostril is bulging!"

"I told you not to panic!"

"I am not panicking, Embry. You are." She kept Will's head tilted back for me. "Let Daddy see."

I peeked inside his nostrils. Even with my powerful wolf vision, I couldn't see the peas. "I can't see the peas."

"What do you mean you can't see the peas? You have super-vision!"

"They're in here, Daddy!" Again, Will rammed his finger into his nostril. I pulled his finger out. "Stop, William. You don't want to push the peas in deeper."

I shined the flashlight of my phone to his nostril so I could get a better look. Nothing. I could no longer see a thing, but I knew the peas were in there. I turned to my anxious wife who was desperately looking up ways to extract peas from nostrils on her phone when Will pointed to her and the floor and cried, "Mommy pee'd!"

My eyes drifted from the small puddle on the floor to my wife, who turned to me with an alarmed expression on her face. "Please tell me your water didn't just break?" I pleaded.

"Okay, I won't." Bella grunted, clutching my arm for support as a contraction hit her. "Ooh! That was a big one!"

"Oh, honey. Breathe in through your nose. Out through your mouth." I breathed with her.

"Daddy, I try, but my nose can't breathe," Will cried. His finger was once again inside his nostril.

"Oh, God! I'm not going to panic. I'm not going to panic," I repeated. Why is everything happening to me at once?

"Embry, you're panicking. It seems to me the best place for us now is the hospital," Bella suggested wisely, then buckled over as another contraction hit her. "If we make it there."

"Do we call 911 for an ambulance in England?"

"How am I supposed to know? This is the first time I've ever lived in England."

"Mommy! It hurts!" Will wailed, holding his arms out for his mother.

"Oh, baby! It's going to be okay," she said in an attempt to soothe our son.

I picked up my phone, scrolling to figure out how to call an ambulance in England, but decided just to gather my wife and son and head to the hospital in a taxi instead. I opened the front door to usher them out when Will's voice rang out with, "Who are you?"

I, of course, was in complete shock. Standing in front of us was Carlisle Cullen and his wife Esme. The doctor was carrying his medical bag. "Alice sent a text stating I was needed here."

I stood stupidly staring with my mouth hanging open. There were two vampires standing in front of us offering to help. I had been taught to treat them with hostility, but found, after all these years communicating with Alice, that I could not.

I smiled at the kind couple. "You're just in time. Will has peas stuck in his nose and Bella's water broke."

"Well, then, let's see about your son first," he replied with a kind smile. "You know, kids sticking objects up their nose is a fairly common occurrence. I once removed dimes from a little girl's nose because she thought it would be the best place to keep her money safe. At least young William here stuck with food products."

"Come in, please." I motioned. It was amazing how much younger he looked than I did now. He looked as if he were in his early twenties; yet, he was many centuries old.

As soon as they were in the penthouse, Esme took over Bella's care and led her to our bedroom. Meanwhile, Dr. Cullen swiftly removed the peas from Will's nose using a surgical steel medical instrument that looked like a cross between kitchen tongs and scissors.

Will didn't even cry. He was fascinated by the medical device. Maybe he'll become a doctor? Doctor William Call—how cool would that be?

"Now, you are no longer going to put anything in your nose, including your fingers. Is that understood, William?" Dr. Cullen asked him.

"What if I have a booger?"

"Then you blow your nose. Now, how would you like to bake cookies? Aunt Esme, brought all the ingredients to play in the kitchen with you."

"Yay," Will chortled and obediently headed to the kitchen where Esme was. Apparently, she had already helped Bella into bed.

"How's Will?" Bella asked immediately.

"Oh, he's fine. Dr. Cullen removed the peas, and he's as good as new. He's baking with Esme now."

"That's a relief." Bella turned to Carlisle who was currently examining her progress. "Thank you for coming."

"It's my pleasure, Bella. Thank you for the privilege of delivering your baby." He acknowledged me with a nod.

We ended up chatting while supporting Bella as she labored. It turned out Carlisle and Esme were currently residing in London where he was working as a physician and she was working for a design firm. I thought it was awesome how they had careers. Years ago, I thought vampires were monsters. It was Bella who helped me to see that they were just another type of supernatural being, and not so different from the rest of us. In the end, we all just wanted to live our lives and be happy.

**Bella's POV**

**Epilogue**

**Five Years Later…**

It took an hour-and-a half to deliver Blake Carlisle Call—after the famous poet and the kind doctor. After the delivery, Carlisle and Esme quickly left, promising to visit the following day to check on us. He informed us he had filed the paperwork, informing the proper authorities of Blake's home birth and declared us both to be in perfect health. Carlisle was so tickled we gave Blake the middle name Carlisle in his honor, that he gifted both William and Blake with college funds. Naturally, in true Cullen style, after that grandiose gesture, Embry and I were unable to contact them to return the over-the-top gift. Alice, of course, refused to help.

We were currently visiting California as part of our vacation in the States. I was sitting in front of Eddie's grave reflecting on my life. Embry had taken the boys to visit with Mark and Lisa, Eddie's parents, so I could do this on my own.

"Did you know, Eddie? Did you know that I'd fall in love again after you earned your wings?" I plucked a few weeds from his grave. It had been maintained well for the most part. "I want to thank you. All those years ago, you made me promise you that I would love again. You were so kind and unselfish, even when you knew it was the end. And I really thought it was the end for me, too. But you knew. You knew it wasn't the end, and you were correct I did fall in love again. Thank you, Eddie. Thank you for giving me permission to love again. I love you so much, and I will always keep you here in my heart."

I kissed his gravestone and sat with him for a little while longer thinking about our short, but blissful time together. When I stood to walk back to Mark and Lisa's house, I turned to see Embry leaning up against our rental car with his arms open wide. I rushed into them and relished in the feeling of being held.

"I thought you might need me. Mark and Lisa are spoiling the boys with some ice cream. Walk with me. I have something to say to Eddie."

I returned to the grave, hand-in-hand with my husband, who kneeled down to speak. "Thank you, Eddie. Thank you for sharing Bella with me. Thank you for giving her permission to love again. I swear that I will continue to look after her, and that I'll love her forever."

And I had no doubt that he would. He came into my life when I thought I would never love again. We loved each other, purely and simply—now and forevermore. I was so fortunate to have found love twice. I was so lucky to love again.


End file.
